Stock that freezer!

Gone fishin'

Most people do it.  Down home, you put a pole in the water and hope for the best.  Maybe it's a bobber, a fly or just the old cast and drag.  Father-in-law likes to tell us it's "skill" that gets him the hits.  I think it's because he gets up earlier.  When we go, it's really to spend time together.  We love it when the fish bite and if we are really itching for a bite, we'll hit up the barrel (maybe). 

Sustenance fishing is a whole different world.  It's not really fishing, it's catching.  No bones about it, you're going to get fish.

Out in the water holding onto a fish

I was lucky enough to be invited by a local Native family to enjoy a BEAUTIFUL day out on the beach catching fish on their license.  They showed me the ropes once and I was out in the water by the time I could shimmy into the "preens"  I felt like a vacuumed pack fillet!   You set out a net and the fish can't see in the murky water, the swim right in, get caught and you gotta go and pick them out.  Some do a pretty darn good job of getting very caught.  Other's just kinda bite at it and you walk right up, unhook them and it takes only a few seconds.  *I like those kind!  They were impressed by my picking abilities and that was to be my main job for the day.

The student of mine that was with me, his main job was helping me out if I got a fish I just couldn't pick and watching for seals.  He held his .22 and made sure they didn't get to close.  They see the net and know there's an easy meal to be had so they get warning shots if they start coming our way.  If they get to close, he yells out seal which means I get out of the water and he starts shooting at it while I'm out of harms way.

Picking fish from the net

While waiting to pick, I was also helping clean slime off of the fish, clots out of the gills and watching for whales swimming up the river from the ocean.  We saw a pod of Beluga Whales cresting at one point but I was in the water and didn't get the camera in time.

The haul for the day was 50 Silver Salmon and 1 Red Salmon.  Only one of the Silvers had been up and started to spawn.  He still had half of his milk sac left but he looked to be a bit older as well.  That one was still cut into fillets and was cooked up for their hard working dogs.  Sorry Ciqu!

The half-spawned old guy.  Look at those teeth!

There are really 3 fish on each hand!  Each weighed about 10-15 lbs.

We filled the freezer of the Native family and my freezer is looking pretty good!  20 fish, 40 fillets.  It's amazing how much fish that really is!  I can't even imagine how much that would cost back home.  All this cost me was a beautiful day out on the river, 8 hours of hard work and a bit of a sunburn on the face.  Oh yeah, and some goofy looking glove tan lines.

Jam packed days

We're here for inservice.  It's a lovely place and people really seem to enjoy it here.  The people are friendly and the food is excellent. Today was french toast, shepard's pie and mexican.  Between meals we talked about schedules, levels, standards and how school was going to run in general.  With a better understanding of how things will work out, I'm ready for a flight to Egegik and some time in my apartment.

Before that though, there were walks alone, walks with new friends and some experiences shooting a bow again.  Here are some more pictures to help paint the picture.

Boat docks looking toward the lodge

Another beautiful day in AK.  State flag, do you know what the stars are?

Alecia and I trying for the water bags

Kathy did the bow last night and had a little trouble with it getting her arm.

My mushroom finds on grounds

Mushroom family

Took a walk to the end of the dock.

Hang the big catch of the day there, didn't fish though, it was SPENDY.  I'll have enough of it in Egegik! 

Bear tracks on the sand bar, we did NOT see it, just the tracks.

MeMe, the sled dog.  She was shy but she could tell I'm a dog person.

 And the one, the only, AfterBite.  This is heaven right here.  I will be ordering some.  One of the gals had it and let me use some after she saw the bites on my hand, forehead and ear.  It was FANTASTIC.  Stopped the itch within 20 seconds.  

Independence Day

The familiarity of the 4th of July in a small town is something to be treasured. While the tried and true traditions of a parade with some of the same floats every year graced the streets of Stayton, some new experiences were had as well. (The vehicle to the left is driven by a former teacher, former mayor of the town and a past Track and field coach and a past Assistant coach of mine when I was the Track coach at the local high school)

It's amazing to me that I'm already having problems remembering what all was done just a day ago. So much is running through my head that having this camera on hand to take pictures of my day is helping a lot! Much of the day was spent making sure that the trunk was really ready to go for the post office. Then was unpacked a little bit when Patch (my godson) brought home a fish for me to fillet so he could try his catch of the day.

After that, I headed out to the parade route so I could set up the canopy so we'd have some shade. As we waited for the parade to start, all of my family and much of my sister's in-law's showed up for the day and excitement grew for the throwing of the candy. Surprise for this year was is that we were throwing it at (I mean to) the floats in addition to the other way around! We waited and really threw it at....shoot...to....the people from town that we knew. It was fun and many of the kids on the floats really enjoyed getting candy rather than giving it away.

I enjoyed watching the debut of the Break the Chain Monster Truck! I'm very proud of Tami and everyone who has worked so hard to make it a reality. I also enjoyed seeing the students from the high school

FFA club being pulled by a tractor and for the first time in a very long time this 30 year old kid stood in front of the

Fire Dept. water truck and got soaked!

A nice break in the day away from the sun was had as I came home and took a snooze. Our poor husky, Ryan, was already getting riled up

by them and joined me on the bed. He is NOT allowed up there and I didn't think he could make it up there honestly. He proved me wrong though and I allowed it because he was so upset. He made it through the night ok with the help of some calming medicine, a loud radio and the comfort of his crate.

The evening concluded with a wonderful golf cart ride with Eric's younger brother, Colby. He took his girlfriend and Eric and I out to a spot on the course where we were the only ones there to view the fireworks. It was FANTASTIC and nice and quiet. No one else around and no lights to get in the way of viewing. We should have thought about one aspect though. The golf carts don't have lights and when the fireworks are done, we had to drive back in the dark. It wasn't that easy but I did have the iPad to help out a little bit thanks to a flashlight app.

Today was a productive day. We got even more ready for the garage sale that is happening on Friday and Saturday. I got the first two packages mailed off. Really, it's a trunk and a commercial grade tote. They are both headed off to Egegik, Alaska now. Everything got a little more real while loading them in the car and actually handing them over not to be seen again for a month. Oh ya, that leads me to this last part...

31 days...... Ya, that's one month from today.